There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 241

Chapter 241: Chapter 234. New Prospects

"Alright, let me get this straight once again," Zein looked at the list of applicants in front of him. "We’re going to label these applicants into level?"

"Yes," Abel flipped through the papers.

It was the first stage of their job; putting the applicants into categories based on their prospects. They would look into the portfolios and motivational essays, before deciding whether or not those people would pass the initial screening.

"I’m so glad I have you now," Abel grinned. "I had to do this alone before."

"Do we have to read all of this?" Zein arched his brow. For some reason, these people wrote such long essays for their personal branding and motivation. "What would happen to the esper’s department?"

"Eh--espers usually don’t write long flowery word. They ended it in one or two concise sentences," Abel shrugged. "Alright, let’s put the good prospect here, the bad there, and the rest in the middle for further perusal."

"Hmm,"

Zein let out a sigh. Again, he did not think before that most of his work would be done behind the desk. Especially since now he could only dove into dungeons with Bassena. All he did these days were making schedules and monitoring the kids’ progress.

But whining wouldn’t decrease the number of documents he needed to peruse, so he stretched his neck and started to read the applications.

Just like Abel had said, many came from the yellow and orange zone. Of course, the basic threshold was still C-class, but this only made things even more incredible. In lower zones, C-class was a sought-after level, because they were good enough to take care of a small or medium guild, and the minimum salary stated by the government and association was still affordable. A lot of C-class guides had reputable status in those zones, and those in B or A class were basically a treasure for how rare they were. So, for the ones with enough experience to throw that stability and come to Trinity was something.

While they might be seduced by the nice condition and working environment, Trinity never stated how many they would take, or if they would take any at all. There was also the risk of being sent to the Deathzone. Looking at this many applicants felt surreal but also...rather suspicious.

Who could say no one registering for a bad purpose, like a spy.

"Once we submitted the final candidates, the HR Department will conduct a thorough screening, looking at their past and hidden dirt," Abel said when he saw Zein frown, correctly guessing what the other man was thinking about.

"That’s not illegal?"

"As long as we don’t breach any law while doing it," Abel shrugged. "Better than having unknown offenders in the midst."

"Mm," Zein nodded in agreement, putting the document in his hand to a pile. "What happened after this? Do we have interview first, or the practical assessment?"

"Interview," Abel replied without shifting his gaze from the paper. As someone who had been doing it twice already, he got the hang of it now, so he could peruse them while talking. "We do the practical assessment together with the Esper Department, so we have to make sure we at least pass people with decent intention."

"Ah, so that’s why we schedule the guide’s interview before the Esper’s practical,"

"Yep."

The guides would be tasked with guiding the esper candidates that had already finished their practical assessment. If the one they sent for practical assessment was malicious, they could mentally cripple the esper or caused trauma for guiding. And if that were to happen, the guild might face lawsuits.

Honestly, Zein could actually ’assess’ them with his probing skill, but it couldn’t be explained in the paper, and people might accuse him of being partial. The old method worked well, and it could also show chemistry between future members, if an esper candidate and a guide candidates found themselves to be highly compatible.

"Make sense," Zein nodded, underlining some sentences in the application form before sending the papers to the middle pile. "In that case, the practical could be done in one day, right?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Good,"

Abel raised his brow, looking at the guide in front of him who was just letting out a relieved sigh. "Impatience much?"

"I have somewhere else I need to be, I don’t know if I can make a round trip in one day, so I might need to stay a night," Zein replied with a shrug.

"Oh, where?"

"Araka."

"Ah, right," Abel snapped his fingers, recalling Zein and the Guildmaster’s conversation during the last executive meeting. And then he paused for a bit before adding carefully. "Your...hometown?"

Zein hummed as he took another unchecked form from the side. "Hmm...you could say that."

"...sorry," Abel said quietly, prompting Zein to look up from the papers in his hand. _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

"Why?"

"Ah, no," the shorter guide twisted his lips and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don’t think people like it much if their designated hometown is a red-zone, so..."

Pfft--Zein let out a chuckle and, after thinking about it more, decided to retract his mask. He might seem offended because his normal gaze was sharp and cold, so even when he was being nonchalant, they easily misunderstood--even Abel. Some of the kids from his division could read his eyes pretty well, though.